Teachers to rally for insurance

AUSTIN - Last year, the Borger Independent School District spent almost a half-million dollars of its $17 million budget on employee health insurance.

"It's a burden on our teachers and the district," said Superintendent Larry Coffman.

Teachers from around the state were expected today to descend on the Capitol to rally for a statewide plan to lift that burden from many Texas educators.

Costs for teacher health insurance have grown in recent years and outpaced teacher salary increases in some districts, leaders in the field say.

In Borger, premiums have gone up considerably in just two years, Coffman said.

Of the 460 employees in the Borger district, about 110 people are on the plan, which creates an added cost because so few are insured by the plan, Coffman said.

Costs for an employee with family coverage is about $671 per month, Coffman said.

The district pitches in on employee coverage, but for some employees such as bus drivers and cafeteria workers whose hours are short, the plan still costs too much.

At the Legislature are ideas for fully funded $3 billion programs and unfunded programs that could soar to $6 billion. Many lawmakers have said a partially state-funded program will likely be part of the legislative package this session.

Coffman said the district has concerns about a partially funded state plan because if the state kicked in a small portion, but required that all employees sign on, the district's cost could go up - something school officials cannot afford.

Particularly in small rural districts that carry fewer people on health insurance plans, teachers are suffering exorbitant premiums, said Annette Coots, spokeswoman for the Texas State Teachers Association, organizers of the rally.

In rural towns such as Floydada, insurance premiums for family coverage have skyrocketed beyond $1,000 a month. The district had to cancel that plan, school district superintendent Jimmie Collins said.

Annual insurance cost for an employee in the Floydada Independent School District is about $5,010, according to information from the state group. That almost doubles the amount for state employees.

The association doesn't know how many to expect, Cootes said, but she had heard of bus loads planning to arrive.

A trip had been scheduled from Abilene for West Texas teachers, she said.

"We are asking for the same policy that the state provides the teachers in community colleges and state colleges and also, the state employees. We believe they should pay 100 percent of the employee portion and 50 percent of the (family) portion," she said. "That's what they're doing for higher ed, and it's what private industry is also doing."

The plan would help rural districts, and it would be an incentive to teachers to stay in the classroom, she said.

"This makes districts like Idalou and Lorenzo and Dumas competitive (with wealthier districts) because they can offer the same health plan," Cootes said.